Tuesday, 28 October 2008

Our latest event was advertised as a chance to be still and know God but this was as far away from being an evening of meditation and chanting as Brighton is from London - which is where we began - watching the 1953 BBC film of the train journey from London to Brighton in 4 minutes as a metaphor for the way our lives seem to rush along tracks over which we have very little control. We tried to simulate the feeling of rushed anticipation and hassle a lot of people experience day to day by playing the chocolate game where those who threw a double six were invited to try and eat some chocolate in hat and gloves with a knife and fork.

All of this was to point out that when we get stressed and rushed we become different people as a variety of physical and emotional symptoms stop us from being the wonderful creatures that God made us to be.

Stress doesn't just come from rushing about, but also from the emotional turmoil we sometimes experience through worry and anxiety, especially in these times of financial upset and crisis.

We started the quieter phase of the evening with an anti-meditation which was designed to stimulate some anxiety and worry but actually proved to be quite funny!

The most interesting illustration for us was the story of Jesus calming the storm and we noticed that he didn't take the disciples away to somewhere quiet and peaceful but brought stillness right into the middle of the storm as he sat alongside them in the boat.

Finally we were led through a meditation on-screen which invited us to still ourselves and our minds because that is the only way to truly know ourselves and to know God, the one who is still there and always will be.